By:Jeff Stein | March 30, 2015

Bundles of newspapers are in the state historical archives, waiting to be preserved...but there’s disagreement over how to do it. One state agency refused a quarter million dollars to do the work. We’ll tell you why, and also look to the future of the industry.

By:IowaWatch | March 27, 2015

A series of IowaWatch stories in late 2014 and early 2015 dug into concerns about how dog breeding facilities are inspected in Iowa. Animal rights advocates say not enough is being done to protect animals while breeders who talked with IowaWatch said inspections sometimes are unfair and aimed at the wrong people. Our quiz provides some updates.

Regardless of who feels the impact, Republican and Democratic state legislators trying to amend Iowa’s absentee voter registration law say changes are critical because ballots are not being counted when they probably should be.

Bundled stacks of newspaper fill shelves and overflow onto the floor in the archives of the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines. How they will be archived is anybody's guess. And the piles grow.

Iowa Stories

“The Rural School Problem,” “Rural Schools Ought to Be Abandoned,” “What to Do With Small Schools” — In some ways news headlines in the 20th century were not much different than those of the 21st century. Education issues were hot news items.

Government & Politics

Iowa has some of the oldest and broadest laws favoring free information and open government, but sometimes those laws aren't followed. We'll talk with those charged with keeping the information flowing.

Business & Consumer Affairs

A renewed attempt will be made again this legislative session to strengthen Iowa’s ability to inspect and regulate large dog breeding facilities in the state, but with a scaled-down focus. A proposed bill would give the state inspection authority over U.S. Department of Agriculture-licensed facilities but also non-licensed facilities that provide animals for pet shops that sell six or more pets in a year.

Health

College kids go out on Friday nights, have a few drinks, and decide they need a cigarette. They have been told that cigarettes can cause cancer. But no one bombards them with danger warnings about their visit to the tanning booth earlier in the day.

Documentaries

An IowaWatch documentary: "Breaking the Cycle: Meth Addiction in the Heartland" examines the impact methamphetamine has on Iowa children raised in a home with a parent addicted to the drug. Watch it here.

We Recommend

The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism—IowaWatch has received two major grants for operating expenses in 2015, including a $75,000 renewal grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. Terms for that grant call for awarding $50,000 outright at the end of February and the remaining $25,000 as a match to new revenue IowaWatch is challenged to raise by the end of January 2016.

One of every three Iowans – 37 percent – voted a straight-party ticket in the 2014 general election, statistics the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office compiled for the first time revealed. Expect those results to be part of another bid in the 2015 Legislature to eliminate straight-ticket voting, the practice that allows voters to fill one oval on the ballot for all of the candidates in one political party.

News Quiz

You’ve read about tanning beds, texting while driving and farm safety in IowaWatch stories this past year. This week’s news quiz brings you up to date as of March 20 on where these matters stand in the Iowa Legislature.

Although Iowa's past is filled with women who have impacted the course of our history, we’ve selected a few to highlight in this news quiz in honor of National Women's History Month. Think you know all about the women in Iowa’s history? Try your hand at this quiz:

Center News

IowaWatch's data analyst/journalist Lauren Mills talked about her recent story about Iowa newspapers piling up without being preserved by the state and Executive Director-Editor Lyle Muller spoke open government the Tuesday, March 17, 2015, "Your Town" show on KXIC radio, AM 800, in Iowa City.

IowaWatch's executive director-editor Lyle Muller spoke about stories that college students in Iowa are reporting and writing for IowaWatch when he was a guest on the Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, "Your Town" show on KXIC radio, AM 800, in Iowa City.

About Iowa Watch

The Iowa Center’s mission is to maintain an independent, non-partisan journalistic program dedicated to producing and encouraging explanatory and investigative journalism in Iowa, engaging in collaborative reporting efforts with Iowa news organizations and educating journalism students. Read More »

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Investigative Reporting in Iowa

A Des Moines Register investigation into the use of state and federal civil forfeiture laws in Iowa reveals that thousands of people have surrendered their cash or property since 2009. The system is stacked against property owners while raising millions of dollars annually for law enforcement agencies across the state, something critics contend encourages policing for profit over promoting public safety.

Iowa's college graduates are burdened with more debt on average than others around the country — about $29,370 at graduation compared with $28,400 nationally — and one of the highest default rates in the United States. Average student debt was highest at Grand View University, reaching $36,794 after the 2013 school year.

Gov. Branstad has consistently said the reason he has been absent from tens of thousands of email communications provided to the public in recent record requests is he doesn't have a state email account and doesn't sent or receive email. But his deposition in a recent court case shows he still received electronic communications via a special app on his phone.

In Case You Missed It

The Iowa Association for Justice (IAJ) has given its 2014 Excellence in Journalism Award to the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism, which runs the non-profit news organization IowaWatch.org. The IAJ gives the award to an individual or group in the media that has made an important contribution to society by either fostering greater public understanding of the civil justice system and the rights and liberties the association seeks to preserve, or by furthering the public’s knowledge of the prevalence and/or prevention of injury.

The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism-IowaWatch.org released on Oct. 2, 2014, an annual report that shows advancements the nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization made in the past year to:
Increase the number of media partners publishing or airing on radio and television its stories.